Los Lobos and Ozomatli celebrate their L.A. roots

Los Angeles is a big place, but there may not be two bands that typify the city more than Los Lobos and Ozomatli.

Los Lobos emerged from East L.A. in the 1970s and ’80s, blending rock, Tex-Mex, blues, R&B, folk and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.

Ozomatli is a multicultural, heterogeneous outfit, claiming members who are Jewish, Mexican, African American and Japanese American. Since 1995, the band has combined rock, funk, salsa, hip-hop, reggae and world music to hip-shaking effect.

The two groups are performing Saturday at the Greek Theatre for the third annual Los Lobos Cinco de Mayo Festival. A guest will be L.A.-based punk band Mariachi El Bronx.

“Los Lobos has been part of L.A., and L.A. has been part of Los Lobos for a long time,” said Steve Berlin, saxophonist and occasional producer for the band. “Up until we came up with this idea, we hadn’t really done anything reflecting our love for the city. It’s something we look forward to and work on all year.”

Berlin, who has produced recordings for acts such as Faith No More, Dave Alvin, the Tailgaters and Ozomatli, used to live in Venice, but now lives in Portland, Ore. However, he says he “takes it as a high honor” to be associated with Los Angeles.

“Much like myself, most of the city is expatriates,” he said. “Sure, we have some homegrown guys in the band. But it’s a very polyglot city. It’s so varied from neighborhood to neighborhood to neighborhood. On Vermont Avenue, you go through six different ethnic varieties. We’re kind of a polyglot band. We touch on and adapt to a number of different guises, from blues band to an acoustic folklorico band.”

Los Lobos’ latest album is “Disconnected in New York City,” a live album released in October on 429 Records. It features some of the band’s favorites, such as “La Bamba” and “Set Me Free (Rosa Lee),” as well as a bunch of lesser-known songs, such as “Tears of God” and “Tin Can Trust.”

“2013 was our 40th anniversary year,” said Berlin, 58. “We thought, ‘Here’s to 40 years.’ We almost never play live in our recordings. We wanted to reward our fans. The venue” (the City Winery in New York) “was like an old-school supper club. They kind of adopted us.”

OZOMATLI FINDS ITS PLACE

Younger than Los Lobos yet still very much inspired by them, the guys in Ozomatli also strongly identify with Los Angeles.

“We’re very proud of it,” Raul Pacheco, guitarist and vocalist for the seven-member band, said by phone from a tour stop in Brisbane, Australia.

“We travel everywhere with (Los Angeles) on our sleeves. I think we’ve always been proud of where we’re from, and the neighborhoods where we’re from. It’s the only place where a band like ours, and the characteristics we have, could be from.”

Pacheco, 45, met his bandmates while they were all in junior high school. Their first album, an eponymous one, was released in 1988. Since then, they’ve released six studio albums, including the Grammy-winning “Embrace the Chaos” (produced by Berlin in 2001) and “Street Signs” (2003). They’ve also recorded a live album, “Live at the Fillmore,” in 2005.

Ozomatli gets its name from the Aztec Nahuatl word for “monkey.” Since its beginnings, Ozomatli has been tied to social activism. One of the band’s first gigs was a meeting to support a group of workers on strike. Ozo also performed at a concert for protesters across the street from Staples Center during the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

“I think we learned early on that music had value, and it was more than just a background thing,” Pacheco said. “It’s an impressionable way to bring people together to raise awareness.”

While maintaining a rebellious streak, the band has also been embraced by the powers that be. The U.S. State Department selected Ozomatli as a cultural ambassador, sponsoring tours and performances in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. The Los Angeles City Council has also proclaimed April 23 as “Ozomatli Day.”

“We’re a high-energy dance band, basically,” Pacheco said. “The uniqueness of where we’re from has transcended everything else. We’ve performed where people don’t even know us, yet it seems like the whole crowd gets into it.”

The group’s latest album is “Place in the Sun,” released in March on Vanguard Records. The album is infused with Ozo’s signature upbeat, driving sound, but also contains reggae, electronic blips and bleeps, Mexican banda and North African guitars.

Collaborators and contributors include Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Xandy Barry of Wax LTD.

The album gets its name from the title track, of course, and from “doing the work and taking the initiative,” Pacheco said.

“It’s about creating your own self-identity. Creating your own space in the world that you can call your own. It’s just a statement about that, and encouraging people to do the same.”

About Saturday’s Cinco de Mayo gig at the Greek, Pacheco said, “We’re really looking forward to that one. We’re expecting tons of family and friends, and people we haven’t seen since junior high school. It’s a beautiful outdoor venue – quintessentially L.A.”